PJ Library Radio enables users to listen to Jewish kids music anytime, anywhere.
As a part of its continual effort to innovate how families with Jewish children can engage and connect with Jewish culture and values, PJ Library, the global Jewish book program, is launching a streaming music service. You can stream Jewish kids music from the JCP website homepage, at pjlibraryradio.com, the PJ Library Radio app (available for download on iTunes or from the Google Play store), or TuneIn Radio (Sonos, Xbox, Roku). This is a cool addition for the 180,000 children and their families in the United States and Canada who get PJ Library books in the mail each month.
St. Louis-based, Jewish Rock Radio, developed and operates PJ Library Radio. Rick Recht, Executive Director of Jewish Rock Radio, shares that, “PJ Library Radio is an absolute game-changer for Jewish music and families throughout the world! PJ Library has such extraordinary reach and impact through its international CD and book distribution and now PJ Library Radio takes to an entirely new level with 24/7 music for families.”
Launched in 2005 as the flagship program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library mails CDs to subscriber families each December, and will continue to do so this year. The program is working to give members the best of Jewish kids music wherever and whenever they want it.
“We have it built into our organizational culture to be critical, thoughtful, and always innovative,” said Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, president of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. “We already bring books into 180,000 homes. Why are we putting Jewish music in your laptop, phone, and tablet? Because wherever parents find it easiest to access Jewish content, that is where PJ Library wants to be.”
A collaboration between the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and Jewish Rock Radio, the launch of PJ Library Radio will kick off a three-year transition from CDs to streaming music. In addition, the PJ Library Radio website will feature interactive music videos, on-demand music, and featured kid musician musicians.
In a recent survey of subscribers, nearly three-quarters of families (74 percent) said they listen to the music CDs they receive from PJ Library. While 93 percent of families in the program have access to a CD player, in follow-up interviews, many parents said they would be more likely to listen to music if it was distributed digitally.
One parent recently shared “We have never really listened to Jewish music, but my children LOVE the PJ music. My daughter requests it every time we get in the car. I’ve been able to explain several Jewish concepts to her, as well as learning a lot myself.”
Music is a vital means for families to connect with Jewish culture and traditions. As with PJ Library books, music distributed by PJ Library celebrates Jewish themes, holidays, values and stories.
“Jewish music is the perfect complement to the books we send out,” said Harold Grinspoon, founder of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. “Music moves people in a way that no other medium can, and we’re proud to be able to make it easier for families to listen to their favorite music anytime, and anywhere that they want.”
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation operates creative programs to engage the Jewish community by meeting people where they are at key life moments and by providing access to the best of Jewish culture and tradition, while using philanthropy to encourage others to invest in the Jewish community.
PJ Library® is an award-winning program started by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that engages families in their Jewish journey by giving free Jewish books and music to children ages 0-11. PJ Library has partnerships with philanthropists and local Jewish organizations in nearly 200 communities in the U.S. and Canada, and sends books to families in 13 countries around the world.